My seven month old son will not sleep!!! Please help!

Christine - posted on 12/29/2008

When you put him to sleep, take off the blouse you wore for the day and wrap along for with his blankie at night.. He will smell your natural scent, relax and should sleep. Another form of advice if he is ever gassy.. Boil infant water with bay leaf, cool and give in bottle.. Works like a charm. That has been passed down in my family for generations and no, I am not crazy :) Worked better than any anti-gas med and I was able to sleep.

Amy - posted on 12/28/2008

Have you started your baby on solid foods? If you are feeding your soon dinner of solid foods a couple hours before bed that should help their tummy feel fuller and help him to sleep longer...

Julia - posted on 12/28/2008

If you're breastfeeding, they can smell your milk when they are in the same room. A routine is very important. Make sure he's getting enough naps during the day and not over tired. He's also learning cause and effect...he cries, you pick him up! I wish I had better advice...my LO sleeps all night and is a thumb sucker. I don't have to go in a replace the pacifier!

Amanda - posted on 12/28/2008

my 9 month old and i are having the same issues. lol. he will not sleep and has been this way for a long time. naps he is fine. but he will not fall asleep with me in the room. so we put him to bed at 9 and lay him with a soother and blanket or bottle. i dont see anything wrong with giving him a btl he might just be hungry. anyhow he falls asleep within 10 min and we go back up and go to sleep. however he wakes up in the middle of the night about 5-6 times. i give him a soother and he falls back asleep. so maybe try that. walk out of the room with the lights off as you would for a nap. I dont know if it will work. also if you dont want to give him milk, try water. and perhaps he's teething and just wants to be comforted.

Yvonne - posted on 12/28/2008

What about changing the milk or giving him water at night or in the afternoons give him water. I usally give mine a touch up with water if she wanted more.Here's a better ideal use distilled water with his formula I did for a year cause I had it rough my youngest.She did not like the taste of tap there is more vitamins. She slept well.

Heidi - posted on 12/28/2008

You're probably right on why he cries. Babies are VERY self-centered, they have to be, they can't understand how their behavior affects other people. He just needs to learn that he is safe alone in his room and that he CAN put himself to sleep. I do know how hard it is to share a room with your baby and having extended family involved makes things twice as hard. Have a talk with your husband and mother about the importance of creating a routine for your little angel and being consistant about it. Put him in his bed at the same time every evening and leave the room. Let him cry for three minutes or so, and then go in to comfort him, (rub his back softly, tell him you love him, tell him he's ok, but DO NOT PICK HIM UP, this is very important.), Leave him alone again and let him cry for five minutes before you comfort him. Repeat this process at seven minutes and every 10 minutes after that. Do not let him feel your stress at his crying because he will not believe you that everything will be okay. If you do this faithfully for a week, you will be surprised at how quickly he begins to fall asleep. Often times, they start falling asleep without needing you to comfort them and sleeping through the night even before the week is out, but I have heard of tough cases that take up to two weeks. I have never heard of this process failing if everyone works together. Good luck! I know it's hard, but you can do it, and you will all be happier and healthier for it!!!

Sarah - posted on 12/28/2008

To be honest the only thing that worked for me was to let me girl cry, but id check on her every 10 mins, put the dummy back in (only use it for sleeping) and walk back out without saying a word.Do u play music?that helped a bit.And it only took about a week and she was sleeping through.I know its hard when other people are living in the house, but your baby has to know that he cant get ur attention every time he cries!But needs to know your still there so u hafta give him that reassurance....it does work, u just hafta do it for as long as it takes and you'll be rewarded!!good luck!!

Victoria - posted on 12/28/2008

if you want to give him a bottle then do so. find out what helps him to fall asleep and then try and stick to a routine. my baby girl has a bath at 6 and then bottle at 7 and bed at 8, she is 7 months old and sleeps through till 8.30am. when i put her to bed i keep all the lights dim, put her music on, and then leave her, i only go back in if she cant find her dummy, i dont talk or look at her just put it back in her mouth. she has been this way since 6 weeks old so i do feel for you being up all the time.

just try to find a routine and stick to it, nothing is going to happen over night it takes time and hard work. have you tried maybe putting him on a thicker formula for night time so he is fuller and may sleep better?

also from 6 weeks old i put my daughter into her own room and i know you cannot at the moment but as soon as you can then do so it may help him to fall asleep on his own.

i hope that what i have said has helped and i would love o know how you get on.